Sex charges against former Oakville volleyball coach dropped

Sex charges against former Oakville volleyball coach dropped

The former Oakville Thunder Volleyball Club coach says he was wrongly accused of having sex with a 14-year-old girl in what his lawyer calls a bizarre case of mistaken identity.

Muliyil, a teacher at Fletcher’s Creek Senior Public School in Brampton, was suspended with pay from his school, and also lost his volunteer coaching position — the two most important activities in his life.

“It makes you feel like somebody took a part of you,” said Muliyil, 47. “I couldn’t do the things that make me who I am.”

During a prostitution investigation in May, York Regional Police charged him with obtaining sexual services, sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching.

The Crown withdrew the charges on Nov. 15 because it had “no reasonable prospect of conviction,” said spokesman Brendan Crawley.

But the damage was already done.

Multiple news outlets had splashed Muliyil’s mug shot and stories of his arrest across the Internet, leading to trolls picking it up and posting it to websites that out sexual predators.

“Suddenly, in a few hours time, your reputation is damaged so badly,” said Muliyil. “It used to be one-day news and then thrown in the garbage.”

His lawyer, Todd White, said police were given a phone number they believed to be a cellphone used to communicate with the girl, including text messages, but it was Muliyil’s landline.

White said he learned this once he was provided full disclosure from the Crown, when he also discovered the description of the alleged criminal was far from matching Muliyil’s appearance.

The wanted man was described as white, with a beard and grey hair. Muliyil is East Indian, with no beard and jet-black hair, said White.

“It was clear whoever the complainant was talking about couldn’t have been Alan,” said White. “They searched his computer, they searched his home and they found nothing untoward.”

Neither Crawley nor York Region police would detail the reasons for withdrawing the charges.

“I couldn’t believe it, it was a nightmare, it was an absolute nightmare,” said Muliyil, who maintained his innocence as his life unravelled. “I thought it’d be over and done with in a day.”

Instead, Muliyil was ostracized as he lost contact with those most important to him. Colleagues at Fletcher were immediately instructed not to communicate with him and he could no longer be around the volleyball club.

He said his good standing in the community — he’s lived in Brampton for 35 years, volunteered to coach teams for 20 and was at Fletcher for 14 — was stolen.

“People should not condemn someone just because they are charged with something,” said Muliyil, who doesn’t have kids of his own. “People should be presumed innocent and unfortunately that’s something people have forgotten.”

Leslie Shade, a media professor at the University of Toronto, said “cyber vigilantism,” like the websites where Muliyil’s mug shot appeared, is impossible to control.

“It is unfortunately very easy to spread misinformation,” said Shade. “It’s very easy to spread information that’s not contextualized, and false.”

In many instances, it’s not possible to redress the misinformation, Shade added. “People have to use the same tools to correct it that spread it in the first place.”

Muliyil said he’s not too worried about the unreliable vigilante websites — it’s what people around him think that matters most.

“You know who you are, but you don’t know what other people think,” he said. “It’s painful to even think about it.”

Muliyil has had the support of his girlfriend and mother throughout the ordeal, and said he’s confident he’ll be warmly welcomed back into the community.

Peter Walker, founder of the Oakville volleyball club where Muliyil coached the under-17 girls’ team for the past three years, said he’s glad Muliyil’s name has been cleared.

“I was shocked as hell when I heard he was charged,” said Walker, noting he never had any problems with Muliyil. “It was a horrendous misunderstanding and he got caught in the middle of it.”

Walker said he hasn’t yet given any thought to whether Muliyil can rejoin the organization.

Muliyil said he’s most concerned about Fletcher, his second home where he desperately wants to return.

Muliyil, who’s never faced any discipline from the Ontario College of Teachers, mostly taught grades 5 and 6 at Fletcher, but was involved in almost every extracurricular sport.

Carla Pereira, spokeswoman for the Peel District School Board, said the board is conducting its own investigation, routine when a court matter concludes.

“There’s no time frame,” said Pereira. “We’re working to get it done as quickly as possible. If everything’s fine, he’ll be returned to the classroom.”

But Pereira couldn’t say if he’d be returned to Fletcher.

“All I’m looking forward to doing is getting back to work,” said Muliyil. “I love teaching and I love coaching, it makes me who I am.”